Dave and Ilana Bittner, co-owners of Columbia, Maryland-based Pixel Workshop, shoot, edit and develop independent multi-media projects for television, DVD, CD-ROM and the web. In this “Social Gets Local” post, they tell us how they apply social business as part of their own company’s marketing strategy and how they’re also using social tools to connect and inform their Howard County community through HoCoMoJo.com. (Dave is on Twitter @bittner, Ilana is @ilanabit and, if you’re local, check out their @hocomojo.)

Q: How has social media impacted the way you market your business?
A: It works toward awareness and as a reminder. It’s a vehicle in which we can share project info without hard selling and it reminds people that we’re here, busy and it tells them what we’re doing, but not in an interruptive or “sales-ey” way.

Q: What social media tool(s) do you use the most?
A: Twitter and Facebook.

Q: How much time each day do you spend using social media?
A: About 2 hours per day.

Q: Do you consider your time on social sites “time well spent”?
A: Yes, absolutely. Our business has been built by WOM (15 years). Social media is an extension of our existing WOM efforts and has expanded our web of influence and contacts. Social media makes it easier to find local resources and it puts us in touch with so many more people every day. Our reach is based on people who choose to hear what we have to say. They have opted in. When we go to social events offline people come up and say, “I love reading your twitter posts or Facebook posts.” We’re on their radar.

Q: What percentage of your new clients comes from social media?
A: Because of our engagement, we’re getting business that might otherwise go to an ad agency. They’re shopping and come to us because they see what we’re doing. Many times, we’re providing traditional media services and then integrating Social Media into the project/campaign where it makes sense.

Q: How are you gauging “ROI”?
A: We know when we’re getting business and buzz because people tell us. We have also positioned ourselves locally as leaders in this media and the reputation we are building makes the time-cost worth it.

Q: Can you describe your “social media successes” at the local, regional and national levels?

A:

Local: We’ve started HoCoMoJo, a hyperlocal news and community resource for Howard County, Maryland. (It’s MObile JOurnalism showcasing the “mojo” of HOward COunty.) Print media is in serious trouble and HoCoMoJo is our attempt to fill the local gap for news, information and community engagement. We seem to have struck a chord and the response has been encouraging. Since we’re already set up with production and editing equipment, HoCoMoJo didn’t require any additional investment. We’re still in public beta, working out some kinks, but new users are signing on every day, posting new content and becoming part of the conversation.

National: Our national connections have become part of our supplemental network. We get tapped when people come to town because we’ve connected on twitter. Our engagement increases the likelihood of our being tapped as a resource for out-of-towners.

Q: What would you say to other local business owners about social media?
A: Get past your natural fears and get in on the conversations. It’s happening – and it’s up to you to be part of it. It’s like attending a giant virtual cocktail party. It can be very interesting and you can do it without leaving the house/office.

Q: What question do you have about social media that you’d like to ask your local business community?
A: The ones who are successful at social media are fearless. The minute a large company tries to do “social business” without authenticity, they’re dead. A lot of companies are adopting a “wait & see” approach. But we look at social media more like it’s the “wild west.” People are experts in social media in the same way that Louis and Clarke were experts on the western frontier. They were only experts because they explored – that’s where we are. We’re exploring. So our question is, “If you can’t quite make sense of the ROI, do you see any value in exploring the potential of this new frontier?”

Click here if you’d like to be a part of Social Gets Local, a FREE local directory supporting businesses located or based in Baltimore, Washington D.C. and Annapolis that are using social media effectively.

Gary Honig, president of D.C.-based Creative Capital Associates (CCA), provides accounts receivable financing to emerging businesses. Currently CCA has more than $10 million in available funding reserves with which they purchased $100 million of commercial invoicing last year. Now with offices in Denver, CO and Red Bank, NJ, CCA continues to fund nationwide. In an industry dependent upon relationships and referrals, Gary has very effectively harnessed the power of social media to raise awareness about his business, as well as to grow his personal and professional network.

Gary is on Twitter @garyhonig and blogs at The Art of Factoring. In this “Social Gets Local” post, Gary tells us how he puts his social media style to work for him every day.

Q: How has social media impacted the way you market your business?
A: As an early adopter of the power of social media, I began to incorporate the communication platform as an integrated part of our overall efforts. This allowed us to effectively get our message into the corners of business communities that had been previously hard to reach. Because the entirety of social media is an evolving mass, the excitement and anticipation of new concepts and applications drives the strategies. To successfully use social media marketing you must be nimble, pro-active, and quick to adopt fresh techniques.

Q: What social media tool do you use the most?
A: This changes as my needs require. A site like LinkedIn might help promote me as a subject matter expert, while Twitter might help me reach referral sources in a fast cost-effective way. The important thing is to cross-pollinate all these tools.

Q: How much time each day do you spend using social media?
A: Some days it seems as if I spend all day reading and writing. If you have enough self discipline to get in and get out of the social media spaces quickly, you can be very effective with 20 minutes here and there a couple times a day. The self discipline to not click on tantalizing subjects is key. That said, I think the threat of “wasting time online” does not mean that the tools are ineffective.

Q: Do you consider your time on social sites “time well spent”?
A: I have measurable results from the efforts to effectively use social media.

Q: What percentage of your new clients comes from social media?
A: Our business is relationships; possibly half the new relationships we acquire come through the social media marketing campaigns.

Q: How are you gauging “ROI”?
A: I believe we could be more effectively tracking our analytics. We are actively seeking to outsource some of this work to optimize the results.

Q: Can you describe your “social media successes” at the local, regional and national levels?
A: Local: We’re meeting good, strong resource partners by participating in events found through social media. Regional: We’re building awareness with better referral sources. National: We’re increasing our visibility as subject matter experts.

Q: Do you encourage your sales force to use social media? How or in what ways?
A: Yes, we believe that increasing the brand footprint by using social media is a great way to stay in front of new business. By staying on top of Twitter chat, working our keywords in discussions, and monitoring those keywords we can be first to respond when a question arises.

Q: What would you say to other local business owners about social media?
A: Be prepared to develop a plan that uses all the tools as a matrix strategy. The tools feed off each other. Use your time effectively, watch out for time drift and have discipline.

Q: What question do you have about social media that you’d like to ask your local business community?
A: What’s the last thing you read or attended that really stopped you in your tracks?

Click here if you’d like to be a part of Social Gets Local, a FREE local directory supporting businesses located or based in Baltimore, Washington D.C. and Annapolis that are using social media effectively.

Joan Schramm, who is an executive, career, business and personal coach at Momentum Coaching, has leveraged the power and reach of multiple social media tools to “achieve momentum” for her business.

In this “Social Gets Local” post, Joan shares her social media approaches, ideas and successes as both a business owner and a skilled social marketer.

Q: How has social media impacted the way you market your business?
A: My blog readership has tripled. By leveraging the power of blogging, I am able to earn more traffic and generate more requests for information.

Q: What social media tool do you use the most?
A: Tweetdeck for Twitter – it is a great tool for posting and for search, as well as for keeping track of important Tweets. I also use Friendfeed to further boost my exposure.

Q: How much time each day do you spend using social media?
A: I spend about 15 – 20 minutes a day on Facebook and on Twitter (@JoanSchramm) I’m in and out all day: 10-15 minutes in the morning; 10 minutes in the afternoon and 10 minutes in the evening.

Q: Do you consider your time on Twitter “time well spent?”
A: Absolutely. It keeps me up to date with what other people in the field are doing, and allows me to effectively communicate with a large number of interested people.

Q: What percentage of your new clients come from social media?
A: About 75 – 80% of my new clients come from social networking – LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook (in that order). The others come from regular networking, which is often an out-shoot of the social networking, so it’s all related. My outreach is more focused and I have started hosting a bi-monthly radio show on BlogTalkRadio. I’m also putting together a teleclass on social networking for job search.

Q: How are you gauging “ROI?”
A: I use search and monitoring tools (Google alerts and Twitter search) to gauge the Word Of Mouth (WOM) of my name/brand/business. Right now, I view the addition of new clients, as well as boosts in WOM as my primary measuring sticks for ROI.

Q: Can you describe one of your “social media successes?”
A: During the holidays, I ran a “10 Days of Holiday Giving” campaign in which I donated (to charity) $1.00 for every comment made on my blog. I got a lot of good feedback on that idea. I also have a Twitter account for a non-profit I volunteer with – Mid-Atlantic Great Dane Rescue League (MAGDRL). The response has been incredible, and MAGDRL was named one of the top 26 charities on Twitter by Mashable.

Q: Do you encourage your sales force to use social media? How or in what ways?
A: Our marketing efforts include our blog, newsletter and social media marketing. I use Google Reader every day to monitor my Top 10 list of blogs – which are great sources for sharing information.

Q: What would you say to other local business owners about social media?
A: Get ahead of the curve NOW. You are missing opportunities! Social media is NOT for kids – it’s for innovative marketers.

Q: What question do you have about social media that you’d like to ask your local business community?
A: Why aren’t more of you involved in social networking? I see a lot of skepticism and misunderstanding about its role in business, and I wonder why that is.

Click here if you’d like to be a part of Social Gets Local, a FREE local directory supporting businesses located in Baltimore, Washington DC and Annapolis that are using social media effectively.

Melissa M. Gomez, Ph.D., is a jury consultant and owner of MMG Jury Consulting in Philadelphia. She tweets @mmgjury and blogs at The Legal Intelligencer. I want to thank her for taking the time to share her twitter experience and for not listening to her cousin.

Twhat?

About a month or so ago, I was sitting at my dining room table with my cousin (who, for his protection, will remain nameless) and he mentions something about this Twitter thing.  “I have heard of that. What is it?” I ask. His answer: “It is the ultimate tool for narcissists. Basically it is folks thinking that they need to share with the world when they drink their coffee, eat a ham sandwich and use the bathroom.”  Hmm. I don’t think I would be very interested in that.

Fast forward a week. I am chatting with my good friend and “social media stylist” (@usegraymatter). I need advice because I am going to be a regular contributor to The Legal Intelligencer blog, Pennsylvania’s local legal publication, and I had only written traditional (print) articles before. She brings up this Twitter thing again and I share my cousin’s perspective.

I tell her I am not sure how Twitter would be useful for a jury consultant like me. I get an earful.

In a few hours, I have a Twitter profile up and am searching around to see if there is anyone in the legal profession tweeping or tweeting or twipping or whatever they call it. I am not very hopeful. I know that none of my clients have ever set foot on twitter. They barely have time to check their email.

TwaHa!

What I find is something pretty incredible.  Folks in the profession are not only on there, but are really using Twitter as a professional tool. I see folks using Twitter as a platform to share ideas, articles, legal blogs and ask for referrals. Only the occasional ham sandwich rears its head. Pretty cool. So, I start to follow people. And they start to follow me back.

But what to tweet?

I am pretty sure no one is interested in the half-eaten granola bar sitting on my desk, so I start to tweet about what I would be interested in: good quotes, articles about courtroom psychology, blogs, things that jurors tweet about their jury duty experience. More people in the legal field follow. I follow more people.

Twa Moral of the Story…

So far, my take on using twitter professionally can be summed up in a comment I made on @lancegodard‘s  blog posting  “Aren’t you on Twitter yet?”

I think it is important to realize what social media may and may not be for legal marketers. For my business, I find that the point of marketing is to not only look at immediate gratification, but at the long term benefits.

Specifically, I am tapping into a whole new potential client base through Twitter-folks who may or may not need a jury consultant in the future, but who I know are going to be the future leaders in their industry — they are already setting themselves apart as the experts of their field through their blogs and such.

I realize that Twitter will likely not lead to immediate business, but it is getting my name out there in another form and with a new group of folks. That is never a negative for anyone as long as you put yourself out there in a meaningful way.

When I started my solo practice after years at a big litigation consulting firm, a good client advised me: “It doesn’t matter how you do it, just keep your name in front of people in a meaningful way. That way, if something comes along next week, next year or 10 years from now, your name will be the one to pop in their heads.”

I think Twitter is a great way to do that.

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Ever run across a business doing everything right?

Well, if you’re ever driving from point A to point B in Baltimore in a dirty car, I’d like to recommend a pit stop at WashWorks on Howard and 21st Street.

WashWorks, Baltimore MD

Not only will your car feel “like new” again, but you’ll have the chance to see one of the most efficiently run small businesses in Baltimore.

What does this post have to do with social media?

It’s about RELATIONSHIPS. I drove in to WashWorks on an overcast day when rain was imminent (yes, my car was THAT dirty that I would pay for a wash right before it rains). There’s usually a line of cars halfway down the block at this WashWorks location, but because of the weather, there were no lines. My lucky day. However, I drive an SUV and I happened to have a roof rack on it that exceeded maximum clearance for the touchless car wash. The owner, who is there all the time (in his easy-to-spot teal shirt), explained this to me when I pulled up. “Bummer,” I said…and then I put ‘er in reverse to back out. But before I did, I leaned out the window and told him that I’m a frequent customer and his is the most well-run operation I have ever seen and that the quality and consistency of the work is always first-rate.

As I prepared to pull away, the owner said, “Wait…”

I stopped. And he said, “Pull into that side bay over there, we’ll wash it by hand.”

Get out!

Seriously! How often do you find that kind of service? While I was a loyal customer before today, I instantly converted into ambassador in perpetuity for WashWorks. My compliment was given without expectation and returned with something truly exceptional.

There are only a few brands that have unequivocally built a reputation on going the extra mile for customers, (Nordstrom’s comes to mind), because they do customer service, quality and consistency right, every time.

I drove out of that WashWorks feeling like a won a prize. Not only was my car spotless, inside and out, but I felt overwhelmed by the act. And it doesn’t matter one iota to me that WashWorks is or isn’t engaged in twitter or facebook or anywhere else online. They are engaged – consistently and thoroughly – in customer service. That’s what drives Word of Mouth (WOM). You might even say they made me their social media.

I’m more than happy to toot their horn.

WashWorks

Howard & 21st Street | Baltimore, MD

http://www.washworksonline.com/

410-837-WASH

Tiffany Thomas Smith, who works in the strategic communications and public affairs unit of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, has enthusiastically taken on the challenge of introducing social media to one of the nation’s largest and most respected philanthropies.

In this (very first) “Social Gets Local” post, an interview with GrayMatter Minute contributor @cameronbarry, she shares the successes and challenges of adapting new communications tools in an organization with a social mission.

Q: How has social media impacted your marketing efforts?
A: The biggest change we’ve seen to date is in public relations.  Social media is where the journalists are. Sites like Twitter and Facebook are the new bridge to our media contacts and the answer to the question of what’s the best way to get in touch with them.  They also give us insights into the stories that journalists are talking about and covering. However, we’re about to launch a new social media campaign that I think is really going to change the way we communicate.

Q: What social media tool do you use the most?
A: Twitter, where I have both my own account and one for the Foundation.  We also have a Facebook page and I’ve been working with my colleagues on the benefits of using LinkedIn, but between listening and posting and answering questions about what it is and why my colleagues should care about it, Twitter definitely gets most of my attention.

Q: How much time each day do you spend using Twitter?
A: I worked with our IT department to install Twhirl on my desktop. Since then, I’ve been able to keep an eye on our accounts and post or respond quickly.  I can’t put an exact amount of time on it because it’s always kind of a low hum in the background.

Q: Do you consider your time on Twitter “time well spent?”
A: That’s a lot like asking a PR person if there’s a value in building a relationship with a reporter if the story you pitch doesn’t come out right away.  In other words, yes, especially in maintaining and managing relationships with journalists.  The Foundation tends to keep a low profile and now, because I’m in regular communication with reporters, they remember us.  We don’t have to constantly restart the conversation every time we have a story to share. In the area of policy and communications strategy, we see more and more members of Congress using social media to take the pulse of their constituencies.  They’ve discovered that there’s more than one way to have a conversation and maintain relationships and we’re going to be taking a look at social media from the policy perspective as well.

Q: Is the leadership of your organization supportive of your use of social media?
A: They are supportive and curious.  All foundations are on information overload, but as tools like Twitter get more and more mainstream media coverage, our leadership is realizing that we have to make an investment in learning about how to make good use of these tools to engage with all of our audiences.

Q: Do your colleagues use social media?  How and in what ways?
A: Yes.  In addition to the basic networks like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, we’re also using social media to help our grantees across the country stay in touch with each other.  The Foundation awards grants to address specific issues and our grantees have been asking for help in setting up their own smaller social networks.  We use ning, an online platform for creating, customizing and sharing your own social networks.

Q: How are you gauging “ROI?”
A: Right now, we’re being modest, but we’re getting smarter as fast as we can.  We’re still evaluating what success means, but we’re tracking how often bloggers write about us and how many tweets we get and of course, our website traffic. Our new social media campaign is going to give us a much clearer idea of how we can make social media engagement work for us.

Q: How is social media working for you on the…
Local level?
A: Our success is most visible locally, probably because I’m here in Baltimore.  I can see our message getting out via local channels, I hear from our grantees, the media can see our local programs at work….
Regional level?
A: We have offices in several cities around the country and from our headquarters here in Baltimore, we view a regional rollout of our social media efforts as a next step.  We’re going to take what we’ve learned here and share it with our offices in Atlanta, Seattle and New Haven so they can use social media to support their efforts.
National level?
A: Nationally, there’s a lot of internal recognition for our efforts, but extending our social media efforts nationwide is still a goal.

Q: What would you say to other area philanthropies about social media?
A: I would say that social media engagement is totally worth the effort if you’re willing to take the time to build relationships.  Social media is great for taking the pulse of what people are talking about, thinking about and listening to. It’s easy to get insulated – we all have a tendency to think that because we want to say something, people want to listen, but that’s not always the case.  Social media encourages you to listen and it gives you the quickest return on being a good listener.

Q: What question do you have about social media that you’d like to ask your local community?
A: I go right back to the question of ROI.  Even with the phenomenal growth of social media, how are folks out there figuring out when it’s worth doing?

Click here if you’d like to be a part of Social Gets Local, a FREE local directory supporting businesses located in Baltimore, Washington DC and Annapolis that are using social media effectively.

Now, to be clear, I’m not saying these are barriers of the “deal breaker” variety. HOWEVER, when I’m giving talks and presentations, this is what you’re telling me are your barriers to entry into social media, despite the cartwheels I am doing to convince you otherwise.

This poll will provide us all with some good data (and who doesn’t love some good data?); but the real fun to be had is in taking each issue (let’s not call them “barriers” anymore) off the “problem” table. After all, business—even social business—is about solutions, is it not?

So let’s do this poll and see which barrier bugs you the most. Then we’ll take ‘em out, one at a time. Ooh-rah! Hooah! And Hooyah!

(If you’re receiving this post via RSS I applaud your content management strategy and I further invite you to click here to view the poll if the image does not appear above.)

My objective here? To make this the shortest post ever (I fail at this repeatedly) in communicating a very simple idea: the power of information.

Check this out: http://www.youtube.com/edu

No really. Right now. Go check it out. (Well, here’s a screengrab to keep you here for another second:)

This is all about power. Power in the form of easy-to-access information – on ANYTHING – and it’s getting easier to access by the microsecond. It’s about CONTENT CONSUMPTION (if I could write the code to make that word blink, flash or otherwise pop about on the page, I would…there’s probably a tutorial on it somewhere on youtube!) and what you do with it.

These are amazing times. You can learn something new every day – for free. You can become smarter, more resourceful, better informed…virtually bionic, man.

How cool is that? Still not convinced?

Think all of this doesn’t tie into your business’ bottom line?

Well get your kaizen on, friend, and take a look at this: http://www.ted.com/

Wow. I’m excited. Are you excited?

Web 2.0 is an opportunity for each of us to engage our inner student. Whether you’re on youtube, facebook, twitter, blogs, your iPod, whatever…it’s a chance to absorb new information and feed our hungry brains in a multitude of different, fun and innovative ways. It can actually be entertaining at times, but if you think it’s all about silly videos, irrelevant status updates or how many “friends” have “friended” you then you need to go back to school.

I’ll save you a seat. (I can’t get enough of this stuff!)

Image via Wikipedia

They’re not at odds. Nor are they even.

Differentiating between Corporate versus Small Business social usability may seem obvious to the trailblazers of Web 2.0 and the social media sphere, but it was a bit of an Oh 2.0 epiphany for me.

Lions, Tigers and Scales. Oh my!

“Does it scale? Does it scale?” Walk into a conference-room conversation about social media and the question of scale is bound to pop up. But what exactly does “does it scale” mean? Simply put, it’s a question of how a company (or an individual, for that matter) personalizes interaction with large-scale (tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands or millions) “fans,” “followers,” “friends,” “visitors,” “commenters,” etc. It’s a fundamental challenge in social media. I mean, how can you possibly keep up with that many conversations?

Well, that’s what the big companies are asking when they talk about “scale” in social media.

And it’s a great question, which I’d like to follow with another: Does social media scale a bit easier for small businesses because they’re a little lighter on their feet and better positioned to move/react more quickly? That is, if you’re a large corporation, with a national or international presence, the question of scale and how you can build 1:1 relationships with ever-growing audiences remains a weighty one, if you’ll allow me the pun. But if you’re a small business, do you have an edge maneuvering around in the socialspheres?

Small Business + Social Media = Perfect Scale?

I’d like to say I’ve done the math, but I don’t do math. So what I’m suggesting here, is that the smaller size of a small business, in comparison to larger corporations, enables more scaled down and targeted local (or even regional) efforts. I don’t want to suggest that it’s an easy or effortless process, but I truly believe that it’s refreshingly manageable when you can make a move without it requiring the approval of multiple departments or a Board of Directors.

Leverage your smaller size to build a more manageable community.

C’mon! This is exciting, no? Social media is something you can get your head (and your small business) around with a few less worries than the Fortune 500 folks. That’s something to feel good about in these trying economic times! You’re a small business. You’re nimble. You’re quick. You don’t own any red tape. It’s you and your customers. Oh, and your passion, (fantastically pre-built into most small businesses). Okay, now you’re all socially psyched. So what’s next?

Here’s my shortlist of small business social action steps.

1. You need to start with a strategic plan. Need help? Someone you know in your local community is surely über-motivated about social media. Find that person. Talk to her about what you want to do. (I might know a gal…)
2. Assess your current social presence and those of your competitors. Again, not sure how? Ask me. I know people. Heck, start with a good ol’ fashioned google search.
3. Identify your goals and objectives in entering the socialsphere. Not sure what they are? Hire someone to help you. Seriously. Do it right from the beginning. You’ll have plenty of opportunities to muck things up along the way…but at least get off to a good, solid, running start.
4. Do your homework! Find the right dot-com platform(s) by taking a look at them. Spend some TIME in the space. This isn’t for fun…this is for your business. (It’s just another plus that you’re likely to find it fun.) Check out twitter, linkedin and facebook for starters. Pick one or two to get your feet wet. Put your business hat on. Listen to the conversations taking place. Figure out how each space can work for your business before you start posting.
5. Set yourself up properly when you open up an account. Build solid profiles – if you write yourself a bio, give it some serious thought. Impressions are made quickly online. Be professional. Protect your brand. But, by all means, be you.
6. Identify your target audience within each platform. Use search tools to find the right people. (My Resources page offers a solid list of Twitter tools…just scroll to the bottom and take your pick.)
7. Engage and respond. Don’t be a lurker for long.
8. Learn, (MEASURE!), adjust and grow your network. Move those online conversations offline!
9. Do not be afraid to try.
10. Do not be afraid to try again.

    

    Image by edkohler

When your corporate ladder is a stepstool, it’s easier to make the move into social media.

I know I’m speaking in general terms here about “small business.” So let’s be clear: There’s nothing in social media that is “off the shelf.” No matter what size your business is, you still need to customize anything and everything you do to fit your brand, your products and services, as well as your employees, whose participation you may well want to enlist. Chances are they’re already engaged in the social Interwebs and might be able to bring some valuable intelligence to the conference room table.

Still not sure social media is for you? Or unclear about what it can do? Well, I’m on the case…

With the gracious help of @cameronbarry, I’m preparing a “Social Gets Local” directory of small business social media success stories. Any small business in the Baltimore, Annapolis and Washington, D.C. areas that wants to participate can share its social media success story in a quick interview that we’ll then turn into a blog post here on GrayMatter Minute. Meanwhile, I’ll compile all of these local case studies into a directory that should prove to be a really great tool for all of us to reference as we build our online communities.

If you’d like to participate, please click here to learn more or contact me on LinkedIn or Twitter. I’d love to talk with you and hear your story. Because I think any small business that’s made the leap into new media, deserves BIG kudos on every scale.

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So you’re LinkedIn, facebooking and tweeting. But are you moving those connections offline? That is, when you make solid, quality connections in any of the online platforms you’re in, are you moving your conversation into a one-on-one context? A phone call? Coffee? A mini-meetup or tweetup?

If not, then why not?

When I find myself talking about why I like spending time in the online socialsphere, I always like to make the point that, for me, it’s not about sitting in front of my computer for hours on end. It’s about meeting new people and building those relationships into a quality network.

Consider your ratio of social networking to social business.

I have to credit Peter Kim for raising my awareness of the term “social business,” and his point is not lost on me. If you’ve ever had to explain “social media” to a C-level executive, I’d highly recommend the “social business” positioning. Of course I’m not saying you need to be all business all the time, but the fact is many of us have integrated social media into our workdays. We learn here. We share here. We connect here. Sure, I’m entertained in and by the process, but I also have a job to do, clients to serve and projects to complete. So I take the time I spend on the socialwebs somewhat seriously.

What’s more personal than talking or meeting offline?

Time is money. So I do my very best to put my money (and my time) where my mouth is. (Literally.) That means I want to talk with you offline. Sometimes we’ll connect on a business level and sometimes on a personal level. I’m happy either way. This post is NOT about looking at everyone with “what-can-you-do-for-me?” eyes. It’s about further personalizing your engagement, your conversations and your network. Or, as Jacob Morgan puts it, “You ARE a social network.”

Call or meet a virtual contact today. If you enjoy your time talking with people online, imagine the reward of talking with those same people offline. Go ahead, do it.  I triple dog dare you.

And now the TRANSPARENCY DISCLAIMER: I’m behind on my calls, (for obvious reasons), but I look very forward to speaking with @JoshSmith12 @ariherzog @CharityHisle @bruceyang @ApothecaryJeri @peabodytweets @mrshadeed @cirqueldesign @JohnSheridan and @GusSent. Talk to you all soon. (Well, as soon as I can!)

Today, the twitter hashtag thunderbolt finally hit me.

I mean, I understand “what” it is, and yet I’ve never really used it for my own purposes. All of that has changed as of today…

Feeling a dash whimsical when I woke up this morning, I had a single factoid in my head that I wanted to share. So I went online to confirm it before sending it out. That’s when I found a site with a whole slew of interesting and related factoids. It was right then that the window of opportunity opened and I tweeted right through it:

And so it began. A series of posts that I created virtually by accident.

And when I had finished, I thought, well, would you just look at that – a series. Haven’t done that before. Then another idea: I could do “a series” every now and again and make it that day’s “10 TopicalTweets.” I can choose a topic that I have questions or thoughts about and then tweet them into a series – all of this doable in five minutes or less (for those already thinking “I don’t have time for that”). I realize the use of the hashtag and/or posting in a series is not revolutionary to the twitterverse, but it was a shazam moment for me, personally. And that’s revolution enough to make me happy. (It doesn’t take much these days.)

And then it hit me:

WHY didn’t I think of using a hash mark to tag those tweets?

If I had put a #D10T within each of those individual posts to reference my Day’s 10 TopicalTweets, the following page would have been full of my eco-factoids, available for easy reference and search. [One more time for the business tweeps out there: easy reference and search. As in, apply the hashtag whenever you post on twitter about your business, products, brand, etc. Tags can also be used to follow discussions, tweet events, seminars and breaking news in real time (live) and more.]

But instead, my “search page” for #D10T looks like this:

Well. I now see how the twitter hashtag can work for me (and my business). And for all those who have ever asked, “What does that hash mark mean?” I’m happy to share my thunderbolt of a moment here for posterity.

So when you see me post a series of tweets with the following tag:you’ll know I have a Day’s 10 TopicalTweets going out that you can view in all their glory, if you are so inclined, by using the twitter search engine, any time – well, any time except today, of course – and typing in #D10T (or whatever other hashtag you might be interested in looking into) where it says “this hashtag” as shown below.

This is one of the things I love most about twitter.

I learn something new every day.

#Literally.

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If you’d like to follow me on twitter, you can find me @usegraymatter.

“Ping me.”

That’s what we all keep saying, right? This directive for making personal or business contact is de rigueur. I say it, myself. Often.

Maybe I’m a bit old-fashioned, but lately, I’ve been feeling reminiscent about the good old days, when we used to say, “call me.” (You know, on the telephone.)

These days, we use our “mobile devices” to text each other; some of us have abandoned our landlines altogether. Now we post our status, twitter, microshare and RSS-feed our friends and colleagues.

It’s a brave new world.

In a business transaction with a 25-year old programmer a few months back, I was told via IM (Instant Message) that I was “out of touch with his generation” because I asked him if we could speak over the phone. (This, in lieu of conducting our entire business discussion via IM, which is, in fact, what he insisted we do.) I had a stack of subsequent projects for which I had hoped to engage his services, but my fingers ached at the prospect of all that typing.

Is there an anti-telephone trend or am I peculiarly phone-dependent?

Am I a lone holdout in my preference for a phone call at some point during any given business transaction? I mean, of course I recognize that not every online transaction requires a phone call. I certainly don’t feel any need to call Amazon.com when I order a book. But when you’re dealing with a business that is providing you with a service (not a retail transaction), I suppose I still consider email a prelude to (and a bridge between) a phone call or meeting.

Are phone calls an unnecessary disruption of our workflow?

Sometimes. But so is email unless you set parameters around reading and/or responding to it. Is a text message an interruption? Or does it feel less intrusive because it doesn’t take up as much of your time. (Funny how things on this blog always seem to be a consideration of time!)☺

Speaking of time, I’ve been told that Tim Ferriss’ talks about how you can save tons of time in his book, The 4-Hour Workweek, by never picking up your phone, managing when you call people back and pushing them to email, which you can outsource for even greater efficiency. Hmmm…I like saving time as much as the next gal and I realize phone calls can interrupt my work, but if it’s the people I work for who are calling, then I hope the phone doesn’t stop ringing! In fact, I still make it a practice to call clients (yes, on the telephone) to review the files I send them via email—but I’m starting to wonder if this is a service or an interference!? Is this proclivity of mine passé in light of the more popular ping?

Who are the peeps pushing for the ping?

In the spirit of due diligence, I connected with one of my online business contacts to get another POV on this topic. Here’s a blip of what the more ping-prone are saying:

“It’s not that people don’t want to be helpful. They may be shy, communicate better when not bothered or interrupted, or they might need more time to think. Maybe they stutter. Who knows? People just want to get more done, and the phone is an old-school way of connecting.”

This is not an unpopular position to take. And I’m not here to knock it. Consider the following “contact policy” posted on the website of a technology services business. You can click through for the full policy, but this snippet delivers the gist:

Sooo, they want my business, but would prefer not to talk to me? Or is it that I just need to get with the times and adapt to their style of business and communication preferences? Maybe they’re forcing me to be more efficient. I’m not picking on this company or their protocol, I’m trying to understand if there’s a trend happening in which some businesses are fine with weeding out the “phone-talkers?” I’m really trying not to take this trend personally. Different strokes for different folks. Whatever works for you. I think I just get hung up when the hypothetical “you” is working for “me.” What about my communication preferences as the customer?

Does social media promote the ping?

And what of the role that social media plays in all of this? Yes, I twitter, email, post and link like it’s my job, but, when the conversation calls for it, (pun intended), I don’t hesitate to pick up the phone. Makes no matter to me if you’re around the corner or on another continent…it’s the sound of your voice that makes our social connection even more sociable.

Chris Brogan posted recently about being on the hook for unreasonable turnaround times with all of this pinging going on, which is surely amplified and unrelenting when you scale it to his 17,000-plus readership. I’m absolutely in favor of his call for boundaries and I’m very interested in reading more about successful bloggers’ social media management systems. I think, however, this particular trend I’m trying to figure out here raises some very traditional questions for businesses:

• Should we all be posting “communication policies” like the company did in the above example to let people know how and when we can and should be pinged or called?
• Is it okay if we sound a bit…unsociable?
• Would such a policy improve business operations by maximizing technology’s time efficiencies or does it restrict relationship-building efforts?
• Where is the line between setting expecatations and meeting them? If a company sets their communication boundaries and they don’t align with my expectations, technically that’s “my” problem. Not theirs. Right?
• What does setting boundaries mean for a service business? You’ll listen to the customer, but only on the channels of your choosing? Is that bad business or good policy-making?
• Is it any different from posting your business “hours of operation” or is this just a backlash from 24/7 web-access overload?
• If you’re building a tribe à la Seth Godin, perhaps you’re leading a cultural shift in communications protocol. Maybe you’re the forward-thinking “heretic” and I’m “resisting change,” hanging on to my telephone for dear life. Is this the future? Am I living in the past?

Is the ping the new king?

To be clear on this point, I have no problem with a well-appointed ping. It can be very time-efficient. Nor do I take issue with email or texting. I love them both. Honest. What I’m doing here is simply taking a look at the business community’s ping-to-ring ratio and wondering if I should be trying to uh, cut the cord, on my telephone dependency. That’s not what my instincts are telling me, but is that what the trend is telling me?

Though I mean no offense in this petite ping protest, someone is sure be affronted by this post.

In fact, I fully expect to get pinged to a pulp on this one, drawing the ire of blackberry addicts, serial texters, email enthusiasts, instant message loyalists, generations X, Y and Z, in addition to anyone who may have an aversion to the telephone or an affinity for the post-modernization of telecommunications. The irony is that I generally don’t really even like to talk on the phone and, yet, here I am suddenly ready to defend it to the death. (?)

I’m not saying all of the “new” ways of communicating aren’t valuable; I’m just saying that listening to the rhythms, tones and subtleties in someone else’s voice still…um, rings my bell.

Image via Wikipedia

Go ahead. It’s your turn to be heard (though, clearly, not in the literal sense). Ping me. I know I’ve got it coming.

(Please be advised, if you’re going to call me “old” or “out of touch” I must warn you that I’m not nearly as old as I may sound. But, then, you’d have to call me so I could prove it…)

Say you’re an employee at a small business and the boss isn’t the least bit interested in social media. But you are. Maybe you think the company you work for could really benefit from being more “social.”

Take action.

This is an opportunity. Put together a plan and march it on up the ladder. Propose to management that YOU can enter the social sphere on behalf of the company.

Explain the value.

Even if they’re not active participants, are they active listeners? Are they monitoring the Interwebs for mentions of their name or their competitions’ names? If not, tell them that you can do this for them.

Set the parameters.

Explain that people trust “people,” not companies. And since you’re a person, you’re perfectly positioned to build the trust. (Who could argue with logic like that?) Explain where you think the business should have a presence and why. Show how you would monitor your activity and the competition’s. Provide them with ideas for how they can assess your engagement and the value of the “intelligence” that you could bring to the business.

Promote yourself.

Be proactive. Step up and offer to take this on in addition to your normal workday, just like you treat social media when you’re not at work. It’s just part of what you do. Test the waters and see how it goes. If you’re not thrilled with your job, but you love social media, create an opportunity to do more of what you love.

You have nothing to lose.

Make yourself the leader of social business at your company. You’ll learn a ton. You’ll make new connections. And, while you’re at it, you may enhance the way you feel about your company and the way your company feels about you.

Have questions? Ask away.

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